promoting gender equitable opportunities in agricultural ... - weman

Box 10GENDER PERCEPTIONS CREATE DISINCENTIVES TO BUILDINGCOLLABORATIVE MARKET RELATIONSHIPSFrameworkThe Mtazamo Vegetable Growers (MVG) is working with Kilimo ImpactTanzania (KIT) in Arusha, Tanzania, to provide high-value vegetablesto Home Grown, a Kenya-based horticulture export company. MVG isan all-women producer group that leases land, acquires inputs, andaccesses export markets through KIT. The MVG Executive Boardhas one employee, a manager whose tasks include overseeing thebank account, distributing payments, and monitoring input use. Therelationship between the all-women executive board and KIT has beendifficult for both parties. Interviews with the manager, a local associationbuildingservice provider and the commercial farmer, revealed a widelyheld perception that the women of the executive board lacked thecapacity and were reluctant to fulfill their obligations as leaders of theexecutive board. However, the women expressed confidence in theirability to perform their functions if trained properly and uncertaintyabout the long-term sustainability of the arrangement with KIT. Theinterviews revealed conflicting perceptions about the productionarrangement linking MVG and KIT. Miscommunication between the twoparties created distrust. Moreover, the gender relations embedded inthe arrangement clouded the ability to judge a proper course of action.The majority of the managers, project staff, and supervisors were men.While both parties were committed to maintaining the relationship inthe long term, the perception of the women’s lack of capacity held bythe managers, supervisors, and project staff led them to believe that inthe future mixed-sex groups would be more appropriate partners.Source: INGIA-VC Interviews in Tanzania, April 2009.Curt Carnemark/The World BankPROMOTING GENDER EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS 44